Surgeons' operating blitz proves a real eye-opener

By FRANCESCA MOLD health reporter

Auckland eye surgeons have halved cataract surgery queues with an operating blitz that has seen them working nights and weekends.

The 18 surgeons cleared clogged waiting lists this week, after performing an extra 500 operations over the past six months.

Removing the backlog means Auckland Hospital patients needing cataract surgery should now wait no more than six months.

The extra operations were carried out under a special deal between the Auckland University Medical School and Auckland Hospital, which saw surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and support staff working on Saturdays and putting in extra hours during the week.

The programme saw patients assessed at the Medical School before having their operations across the road at Auckland Hospital, a process that lifted the number of treatments by 45 to 50 per cent.

Many of the patients involved were on "residual" waiting lists and would not have had the operation otherwise.

Blockhouse Bay's Richard Rowntree, 82, and Nora Willetts, 83, of Takapuna, described their surgery as "miraculous."

Mrs Willetts said that to be able to see the brightness of colours again was magical.

Mr Rowntree had waited 21/2 years to have a cataract removed from his left eye.

"The eye cover came off and there was a whole new world in front of me," he said.

Cataracts are common among elderly people and occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy and light is unable to pass through it.

They can have a major impact on people's independence and quality of life, as well as leading to accidents and injuries.

When Auckland Hospital was initially offered money for the project from the Health Funding Authority it thought the contract would have to be tendered out as it did not have the available capacity.

But Professor Charles McGhee, the newly appointed head of ophthalmology at Auckland University and the clinical director of the hospital's eye department, sealed a deal between the two organisations to ensure the funds stayed in the public system.

His venture is a breakthrough for ophthalmology, which in the past has been tainted by accusations of cartels of eye surgeons taking patients from the public system.

Paul Rosser, chair of Auckland Hospital's committee of eye surgeons, said there was a misconception that surgeons worked for their own advantage.

"Surgeons who work, even part of their time, in the public sector care about these patients," he said.

"It was far better to get through the extra numbers by working with university staff rather than tendering out to the private sector."

The joint project was also a first for New Zealand, but Professor McGhee met the HFA yesterday to discuss the possibility of it becoming a model for other specialties and hospitals.

The blitz also allowed six new research projects to be carried out involving the 500 patients.